Top Boy actor Micheal Ward charged with rape and sexual assault | UK news

Micheal Ward, the Bafta-winning actor who has appeared in Blue Story and High Boy, has been charged with rape and sexual assault.Ward, 27, of Cheshunt, Hertfordshire, has been charged with two counts of rape and three counts of sexual assault, the Metropolitan police stated. The offences relate to at least one girl and are alleged to have taken place in January 2023.Det Supt Scott Ware, whose workforce is main the Met’s investigation, stated: “Our specialist officers proceed to help the lady who has come ahead – we all know investigations of this nature can have important affect on those that make stories.”Ward will seem at Thames magistrates courtroom in east London on 28 August.In an announcement issued after the fees have been introduced on Friday, the actor stated: “I deny the fees towards me fully. I’ve cooperated absolutely with the police all through their investigation and can proceed to cooperate.“I recognise that proceedings at the moment are ongoing, and I’ve full religion that they may result in my identify being cleared. Given these proceedings, I’m unable to remark additional.”Catherine Baccas, the deputy chief crown prosecutor for CPS London South, stated: “Having fastidiously reviewed a file of proof, the Crown Prosecution Service has authorised the Metropolitan police to cost Micheal Ward, 27, with two counts of rape, two counts of assault by penetration, and one rely of sexual assault towards a girl in January 2023.“We remind all involved that proceedings towards the suspect are lively and he has a proper to a good trial. It’s important that there needs to be no reporting, commentary or sharing of data on-line which may in any method prejudice these proceedings.”Ward first got here on to screens within the TV sequence Brotherhood however is finest recognized for his function as Jamie in High Boy from 2013 till 2022.The Jamaican-born actor was awarded the Bafta rising star honour in 2020 and was nominated for the very best supporting actor Bafta for his function as Franklyn Cooper in Lovers Rock, a part of the BBC sequence Small Axe, the next 12 months.He additionally starred within the 2022 movie Empire of Mild and was solid within the forthcoming US pandemic-era western film Eddington, resulting from be launched within the UK subsequent month.